Day 22 Biblelands trip

Day 22
Last day in Turkey today.. some things I learnt here..Turkey is located between Asia and Europe(OK .I did know that bit 😊) with 8 bordering countries. The main income is tourism, followed by agriculture - 80% of the world's hazelnuts and 90% of the world's pine nuts come from here. Also olives, pomegranates,grapes (for dried fruit and white wine mainly). Textiles is the next major source of income, as it was in Bible times (Turkish rugs, fabrics) Tea is very culturally important.. our guide Yetkin drinks 15-20 cups of black tea a day, coffee is not as popular. Baklava and Turkish delight are the traditional sweets. The country is 90% Moslem, but it is far more relaxed and respectful of other religions than Arabic countries. There are no images allowed in the Moslem mosques, so they use tiles instead, So tile making is a very important art.
Istanbul, where we spent the last few days is much more cosmopolitan than Asia minor where we started, but the countryside and the friendliness and helpfulness of the people in the Anatolia area was lovely.
We spent our last day cruising the Bosphorus and seeing the many mosques and palaces on the water. Then we wandered the local streets and the Spice Market. After dinner a last local Apple tea with friends ❤️
Tomorrow...onto Greece!Read more